Patterns and Mechanisms of Light Gap Regeneration in a Caribbean Mangrove Forest

红树林生境是一种高产生态系统，具有重要的生态、经济和美学价值。由于人类引起的、地方的和全球的沿海环境改变，它们在世界范围内正在退化和破坏。鉴于红树林的广泛地理分布，令人惊讶的是，关于树冠树木再生和树木生活史与这一过程相互作用的研究很少。本研究将探讨加勒比红树林树冠更新的模式和机制，重点研究干扰产生的树冠间隙的作用。该研究将确定控制森林更新的因素，从而阐明有关生态位分配与彩票过程在植物组合结构中的相对作用的重要基本生态问题。此外，本研究收集的信息对于预测不同类型栖息地改变的后果至关重要。特别是，本研究将探讨树种生活史与种子传播、土壤养分水平、干扰、草食和种间相互作用的相互作用。这项研究对理解与热带红树林动态相关的过程和机制作出了重要贡献。尽管红树林植被具有广泛的地理分布，但对这种重要的沿海植被类型的自然干扰机制和动态的研究却很少。本提案中描述的研究方案包含了测量模式和实验解决热带红树林再生过程的最全面尝试之一。

Mangrove forest habitats are highly productive ecosystems that have significant ecological, economic, and aesthetic value. They are being degraded and destroyed world-wide by human-induced, local and global alterations of the coastal environment. Given the broad geographic distribution of mangroves, there have been surprisingly few studies of canopy tree regeneration and the interplay of tree life histories with this process. This study will investigate patterns and mechanisms of canopy tree regeneration in a Caribbean mangrove forest, with an emphasis on the role of disturbance-generated canopy gaps. The study will identify the factors that control forest regeneration and thereby shed light on important basic ecological questions concerning the relative roles of niche partitioning versus lottery processes in structuring plant assemblages. In addition, the information gathered in this study is essential for predicting the consequences of different kinds of habitat alteration. In particular, this study will investigate the interactions of tree species life histories with seed dispersal, soil nutrient levels, disturbance, herbivory, and interspecific interactions. %%% This study represents an important contribution to the understanding of processes and mechanisms associated with the dynamics of tropical mangrove forests. Despite the broad geographic distribution of mangrove vegetation, there has been a paucity of studies on the natural disturbance regime and dynamics of this important type of coastal vegetation. The research protocol described in this proposal contains one of the most comprehensive attempts to measure pattern and experimentally address processes in the regeneration of tropical mangrove forests.